Quanex Introduces Project Nexus to Window and Door Manufacturers

Project Nexus represents the company’s new approach to serving the North American residential building products market. The program and branding both serve to unify Quanex’s Engineered Products Group (EPG) family of businesses.



Project Nexus is a long-term growth program connecting Quanex’s three EPG businesses: Homeshield Fenestration Components, Mikron Industries and Truseal Technologies. Until recently, the three businesses operated independently with much success. Now, Project Nexus is leveraging the untapped, collaborative potential of EPG’s sales, marketing and engineering teams. Together, these teams are synergizing efforts to offer the residential building products market:

• A variety of enhanced energy-efficient and durable systems, which are often precertified for ease of adoption by customers.




• Streamlined manufacturing options that enable the production of higher quality end products in a more efficient manner




• Engineered solutions targeted to both national and regional window and door OEMs




• Best-in-class customer service




• One team of sales, marketing and technical service professionals to meet the changing needs of Quanex’s customers

“Quanex Building Products is entering an exciting period in which we are revolutionizing the way we serve the needs of the window and door markets. Project Nexus synthesizes efforts among our core businesses, enabling us to cross-sell a full range of products to better serve all of our customers,” said August (Gus) J. Coppola, senior vice president and champion of the Project Nexus initiative.



The Project Nexus and new branding initiatives align directly with Quanex’s mission of becoming the leading manufacturer of fenestration systems and components, recognized for energy efficiency and leading edge product and process technology.



To advance the goals of Project Nexus, Quanex has established the following internal advisory boards:

• Innovation Board: Leading technologists at the three EPG businesses are collaborating to better understand enterprise-wide technology strengths. This team will investigate and recommend product development ideas to be evaluated and pursued by leveraging EPG-wide resources.




• Sales Board: Sales leaders across the three businesses are working together to restructure the sales organizations into two groups – one to service regional markets and the other to address national brands – to ensure the unique requirements of these customer groups are matched with appropriate resources.




• Marketing Board: Marketing leaders from the three businesses are uniting to establish Quanex as an energy-efficiency expert in the fenestration market and to listen to customers’ needs from an overall system perspective.

“Quanex Building Products has been working diligently on Project Nexus to create synergies and economies of scale through close collaboration among its businesses. As the key gathering place for the North American fenestration industry, GlassBuild America® represents the ideal platform to showcase Quanex’s efforts to leverage the advantages and efficiencies inherent in our business,” said Brent Korb, Quanex chief financial officer.



Corporate Profile

Quanex Building Products Corporation is an industry-leading manufacturer of engineered materials, components and systems serving the U.S. residential window and door markets. It is an ROIC-driven company that grows shareholder returns through a combination of organic growth via new products, new programs like Project Nexus and strategic acquisitions.



Statements that use the words “expect,” “should,” “believe,” “will,” “might,” or similar words reflecting future expectations or beliefs are forward-looking statements. The statements found above are based on current expectations. Actual results or events may differ materially from this release. Factors that could impact future results may include, without limitation, the effect of both domestic and global economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, and the availability and cost of raw materials. For a more complete discussion of factors that may affect the company’s future performance, please refer to the company’s most recent 10-K filing on December 18, 2009, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in particular the section titled, “Private Securities Litigation Reform Act” contained therein. The forward-looking statements are intended to express the company’s expectations as of the date of this release. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.



Financial Contact: Jeff Galow, 713-877-5327, Media Contact: Valerie Calvert, 713-877-5305



For general information about Quanex, visit our website at www.quanex.com.